


Bonding

by SailorStarDust1



Series: Remake: Subtle [3]
Category: Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Aerti Week, Aerti Week 2019, Childhood Memories, Clerifa if you squint, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, F/F, Friendship/Love, Light Angst, Minor Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife, Minor Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife, Minor Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough, Past Relationship(s), Petals and Piano Keys, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-10-26 05:23:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20736917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorStarDust1/pseuds/SailorStarDust1
Summary: On the road during their grand adventure, Aerith and Tifa take a breather to get to know each other better.Written forAerTi Week 2019's Day 5 (October 11th) prompt: "Hopes for the Remake".





	Bonding

**Author's Note:**

> Will I _ever_ stop writing Remake-based fics for FF7 fan events? Probably not :P I decided to add this AerTi fic to a small Remake series I'm writing, so reading the previous 2 entires (CloTi and Clerifa-based) will make a bit more sense. 
> 
> Thanks so much to **@Caramel_Potato** & **Denebola_Leo** for helping me bounce off ideas. Love to you both!
> 
> Happy AerTi Week❤️

“Don’t be a stranger if you need anything!”, Aerith cheerfully reiterated over PHS before tossing it back to Cloud nodding appreciatively, his back against an oak tree. After the group crossed paths with a feisty, young, Ninja—especially eager to join their Party once laying eyes on Cloud, faint blush coloring her cheeks—they met with Barret and Red near the Fort Condor outskirts.

The trio—Barret weary about their new teammate while Red was amicable in his chatting—went ahead to Junon in order to scope the area. Night wouldn’t fall for several hours. There was still plenty of time for Cloud to do whatever he felt was needed, be it gaining intel or ensuring his maps were correct before the Party moved on ahead.

Their blond Chocobo-headed swordsman was, in fact, sharpening and polishing that worn down Buster Sword. Aerith smiled faintly that he was taking good care of the item, but how _ his _sword came into Cloud’s possession was still a complete mystery.

Oh, well. These were matters to worry about another time, another day. No reason to let her heartache fixate on the past when their present was exciting.

Smile growing slightly wider, the flower girl nudged her female companion, who was in the middle of rewrapping her gloves to protect her hands due to her swift punches and devastating kicks.

“Hey, Tif!”, she excitedly whispered.

“Mh?”, her ruby eyes flickered up, a slight smile on her own face at Aerith’s gaining her attention. The other day in the slum church, lovingly tending to a fresh batch of blossoming flowers...truly, Aerith was absolutely _radiant_. Maybe there was something to that flower girl actually being of Cetra blood.

“Whaddya say we sneak out and relax? Peaceful moments like these should be cherished, don’t you think?”

“Huh?!” Tifa gave a start, quickly glancing at Cloud as soon as that query dropped from her new friend’s lips. Being a little reckless once in a while couldn’t be terribly harmful—especially now that they were long out of Midgar, away from Shinra’s control. The company, after all, was anxious about Sephiroth. Understandable, when nobody knew just _ where _the dangerous man was.

“I...I mean, I guess?”

“Great! Let’s fetch Boko and get a move on before Cloud notices! There’s a pretty looking cafe back in Kalm.”

“Mh, that far? Well, I guess we _ can _make good time, if we have Boko.” After musing aloud, Tifa flashed Aerith her prettiest smile. “Alright. Let’s go!”

Boko—Aerith excitedly named him, having never seen a wild Chocobo before—was calmly eating some grass, ignoring Cloud (who currently didn’t pay him any mind, anyway). 

The blond ordered the bird to stay if they ran into trouble—a strong monster that gave their Party the jump, for instance—and happily, Boko was patient and mild-tempered enough to listen instead of returning to the solitary stable Cloud purchased at the farm.

The two woman glanced once more at Cloud.

Yep, still sitting completely and utterly engrossed, a few feet away. Maybe he’d take to stabbing some monsters to ensure the thing had been well-maintained?

Holding back mutual, tittering, giggles while stepping lightly, Tifa took the reins, Aerith’s arms securely wrapped around the brawler’s waist. Tifa had to refocus her mind, gently direct Boko on where to turn—especially across the marshes—when to slow down in the fields so her head would stop spinning from the beautiful scent of flowers and Aerith’s soft arms filling her senses.

“You know something?”

“What?”

Aerith raised her voice a little so Tifa could better hear, “I never knew how beautiful the sky was, until today.”

And Tifa couldn’t help but smile warmly, slowing down Boko’s pace so the ride would be a leisurely one.

* * *

“Wait here, Boko.” With an additional promise of some Greens from the Chocobo Farm before hitting the road once more, Aerith and Tifa offered the gentle bird affectionate headpats, ruffling his feathers to the yellow bird's delight.

With a happy “_Kweh_~”, he obeyed.

Aerith grinned. She never knew having a pet could be so _fun_! And cute.

“That cafe looked so good, we just _have_ to try it, Tif!” Aerith grinned, leading Tifa by the hand through the town’s quaint cobblestone streets. “Maybe the drinks are as good as 7th Heaven?”

Tifa somewhat forced a smile, the scars only a few days prior still raw. Too real. “I dunno.”, she managed to tease back, “not many of my customers wanted coffee, just booze.”

A slight chill in the air due to a so far mild winter, Aerith pulled Tifa closer. 

“Looks like we couldn’t use that coffee or tea a moment too soon, hm?” The younger of the pair chuckled, their shoulders brushing in pleasant, almost electric, contact before Tifa politely opened the coffee shop door for the older woman.

Light jazz filled the cozy, homey, cafe with a small fireplace in the corner, a contrast to that dump of a bar some stores away. A freshly-baked armory of sweet treats and savory sandwiches wafted towards the two women, alongside roasted coffee, inviting them to try something.

“Maybe so. Whoa!”

Aerith paused in her usual teasing tone, her eyes glued to the menu. Various desserts, coffees, and teas—some were local specialties, some originating from the other continent where Tifa had been born—all looked _incredibly_ good. 

“I think...I ran into the illusion of choice, here.”

“Hmm......”, Tifa held her chin, scanning the boards for something familiar. Ruby eyes widening in apparent recognition, she nodded in self-satisfaction. “Got it.” Mind already made up regarding her purchase, Tifa approached the cashier, ready to make her order. “2 Dawn’s Delight and a slice of Chocolate Kalm Pie, please!”, she cheerfully requested.

“Oh, no you don’t!”, Aerith winked while chiding, coin purse already out of her pocket to rummage through the Gil she had on hand. Mom would safely looked after her recent funds from the flower selling business, her money at their humble home wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. “If you’re going to keep me in suspense about that tea you ordered, then I have no choice but to pay!”

“Okay, okay.”, Tifa, giggling, held her hands in mock-surrender, the Fireball and Chocobo charms on her wrist dangling, before she left to find a table near the fireplace. It was refreshing to see that cute vase decorating the table filled with actual flowers from the fields nearby, despite some of the grass appearing worse for the wear due to its proximity to Midgar.

* * *

“This pie is _awesome_!”, Aerith offered while munching on the crumbly, chocolatey, dessert. She carefully sipped her hot tea, continuing, “There was a great place in the Slums, that Za—”

Aerith immediately sipped more tea. She didn’t want to discuss her past, especially with private suspicions that Tifa seemingly recognized Cloud’s sword, too. “That my boyfriend and I would sometimes go to.”

Tifa took delicate bites from her own portion of creamy goodness, in recollection. “That run-down diner in Sector...3, wasn’t it? I heard they shut down a month ago.”

Aerith pouted. “Well, we’ll always have the memories, right?”

“Yep!” 

“...You ever take Cloud there?”

Tifa nearly spit her still-hot tea, needing something to contrast the crumbly pie. “What’s _ that _supposed to mean?”

Immediately Aerith laughed, winking, not dignifying her adorable friend's flustered reaction with a response. She wondered if she couldn’t make her friend’s cheeks pink for _ other _reasons?

“You know.” The traces of humor were removed from the flower girl’s sparkling eyes, replaced with a serious look, taking Tifa’s hands into her own. “You’re beautiful when you smile.”

Ahh, _there_ it was. Tifa gulped, unable to formulate a reply with sweaty palms in Aerith’s dainty touch, her still-pink cheeks burning a deeper shade of red.

After a moment of simply gazing into one another’s eyes—not searchingly, because both already found what they were looking for, emerald into ruby. Tifa gently broke their handhold, staring out the window with cheek in her palm, a tiny smile forming.

“You know something...”

“Hm?” Aerith set aside her fork. Their snack could wait since she was intrigued about whatever was on her friend’s mind.

“I never really _did_ have a female friend to do this sort of thing with. Go out for tea, I mean. There was my friend Jessie, but she was always so busy with ‘work’, and with my running the bar, our schedules never really lined up.”

Tiny sigh escaping Tifa’s lips, she continued, eyes shut closed. Scars from only a few days ago needed time to heal. Just like Nibelheim did. At least her quickly forming friendship with Aerith could warm her heart.

“Mom...died from illness when I was little. Cloud’s dad did too, several years before her. I still think something about the Mako Reactor was making people sick, since all the wildlife was disappearing from Mount Nibel. Lots of dead grass, like the very life was sucked out of the Planet. But nobody seemed to believe me. Dad always said Shinra was making life better for the village though was against that Reactor built back when _ he _was just a kid.”

“...You climbed the mountain at such a young age?” Aerith was impressed. “Wasn’t it dangerous?”

“Well...After Mom died, that’s when I became obsessed with it. After my accident...” She frowned, face scrunching up, adding, “I...can’t remember much about that time. I was so young at 7. Only that...I apparently ended up in a week-long coma. Dad _ hated _ me climbing Mount Nibel again, me figuring out what trails were free of monsters and what to avoid, but...I couldn’t help it. I wanted to figure out, too, if it really _was_ the Reactor that made some citizens sick?”

“Then you started taking your self defense classes at 13, right? The Mayor’s daughter wanted to protect her people.”

Tifa chuckled. 5 years of distance from her hometown’s razing lessened the pain slightly. Their eventually returning to the rubble and ashes would be difficult. She wondered if she'd see Zangan-_sensei_ again, if he was still alive. She remembered the short note and money he left behind for her, once she woke up alone in Midgar. She had to thank him.

“I wonder if Mom would’ve liked or hated Midgar? Dad, too.”

“I’m not sure, since they didn’t sound very fond of Shinra. Mom wasn’t, either. My real mother, I mean.” Aerith’s smile was slightly bitter. “She would’ve hated living in Midgar, if she hadn’t been cooped up in the labs for so many years.”

Tifa visibly winced. “Maybe we should change the topic. This isn’t healthy for either of us to—”

“No.” The flower girl’s voice was firm, but not unkind. “You’ve been wondering, ‘why is she so cheerful when she’s been through so much’, yeah?”

“Well......” Tifa nodded, still visibly uncomfortable. “Yeah.”

“Hope makes all the difference. I didn’t...have many friends growing up, boys or girls. _All_ the kids were scared of me. Nobody went as far as calling me a freak, I mean. Being the last Ancient, healing the Planet, and sensing people’s emotions..._of course _it’ll especially scare kids.”

Fingerless gloved hands wrapped around soft hands somewhat calloused from gardening. Their fingers interlaced, gently, slowly. An affectionate, honest, handhold.

“There weren’t many girls in the village, so I was kinda the town idol, being the Mayor’s daughter. The female friends I had were great, though. I think there were jealous about how often Wel, Dan, and Meiday would hang out with me.”

Tifa was smiling fully from the fond remembrances of hide and go seek, and joking around as they worked on homework together.

“...And what about Cloud?” Aerith cocked her head to the side with a cheeky grin, honestly curious.

“Cloud? Huh...” Tifa’s gaze was upward, towards the ceiling. The slim and calloused fingers of her free hand rhythmically tapped along to the beat of the jazz piece playing in the background. One she’d practice on her mother’s piano growing up. 

“I can’t remember much, actually. We’d...wave to each other every morning before heading to the schoolhouse, but he was a loner, going off by himself. Instead of playing at recess, he’d...always pick fights, even with my guy friends! It was as if he was testing his strength? Sometimes on a weekend, he’d see me outside and shyly ask me a music question, but...”

“Everything was so many years ago.” Her brows furrowed. “Remembering childhood isn’t easy, I guess.”

“Maybe our trip will be good for you both?” Aerith ever so carefully tiptoed around her next comment, “Especially so we can find a cure for whatever sickness that’s been ailing Cloud.”

_ So you’ve noticed something’s _ really _ wrong with him. Maybe it’s an Ancient thing. _ Tifa nodded, letting their hands go with renewed hope in her eyes. Aerith was 100% right. 

“Hey, Aer?”

“Mmh?”

Tifa was actually grinning, nodding towards the woman’s cup of still-hot tea. “Look.”

Emerald eyes widening in surprise, Aerith was thrilled to notice a fully bloomed Jasmine flower sunk at the bottom her cup! What a delight, indeed.

* * *

“_Wark_!”

“Huh?” A little startled, Cloud looked up from his map-making, several sheets of paper strewn out under his crossed legs, blue and Mako eyes squinting due to bright sunlight. 

“Tifa, Aerith? I was wondering where you and Boko went off to!”

Exchanging grins, both women held back their laughter which almost burst at the seams. 

“You’re a bigger Chocobo Head than Boko!”


End file.
